Lommel SK sporting director Jeffrey Van As has used West Ham United and Stoke City as examples to express his dissatisfaction with English players picking Championship sides over his club.
Tuesday’s edition of Het Belang van Limburg has an interview with the official.
West Ham and Stoke City are mentioned when explaining why a sporting project alone isn’t enough to convince players.
Summer transfer strategy
Manchester City owners City Football Group took over the Belgian club in 2020. Earlier this year, Lommel SK secured promotion to the top flight for the first time in 23 years.
Jeffrey Van As was analysing his side’s summer business with the Belgian newspaper. They have signed eight players and four of them arrived on loan from clubs owned by CFG. This includes Sverre Nypan and Isaiah Dada-Mascoll from Manchester City.
When asked whether it’s a coincidence that four are Dutch speaking and the other four are from CFG, he said: “It is the club’s philosophy. Internally, we look at players from the squad first before introducing other options.
“We analysed a huge number of profiles from England, Spain, France, and Italy. It is easy to identify the best player everywhere, but that player doesn’t always appear. Sometimes they make different choices themselves as well.”
Dig at West Ham and Stoke City
Jeffrey Van As knows not everyone is aware of the Jupiler Pro League side. He says players entourages, especially English, are focusing on the financial aspect as well as the sporting project when making a decision.
To make his point, he used West Ham United and Stoke City as examples.
“You can’t erase the past. Lommel SK is just starting out. Many have never heard of us, and I can’t blame anyone for that. It took a lot of persuasion, but it worked with Sverre Nypan, for example,” Van As explained.
“Entourages don’t just look at the sporting aspect; they also consider the financial side or the size of the club important.”
“English players, for example, are more likely to choose Stoke City or West Ham. I can understand them choosing another club, but that is often not based on sporting reasons, but on financial ones. After all, the chance of getting playing time with us is much greater than in the English second division.”
